When to plant in Willmar, MN

Planting dates worked out from Willmar's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

May 12

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 28

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 2

1 year in 10 by Sep 21

Frost-free days

154

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Willmar Wwtp · 1.7 km away · station 335 m, town 348 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 17 – Mar 31	May 12 – May 26	Jul 6
Sweet pepper	Mar 3 – Mar 17	May 12 – May 26	Jul 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 8 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 22
Peas	—	Apr 12 – May 10	Jun 6
Bush beans	—	May 5 – May 26	Jun 24
Carrot	—	Apr 20 – Jun 1	Jun 19
Beet	—	Apr 20 – Jun 1	Jun 9
Potato	—	Apr 20 – May 11	Jun 29
Kale	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 1
Broccoli	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – May 3	Jun 11
Cucumber	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jul 1
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jun 26
Winter squash	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jul 31
Sweet corn	—	May 5 – May 26	Jul 4
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 12 – May 3	Jul 11
Garlic	—	Sep 18 – Oct 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 12 – May 10	May 20
Basil	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 12 – May 26	Jul 8

Plan all 65 crops for Willmar

Willmar's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1893	Apr 29
1894	Apr 22
1895	May 13
1896	Apr 21
1897	Jun 7
1899	May 13
1900	May 4
1901	May 12
1902	Apr 24
1917	May 22
1918	May 13
1919	May 5
1920	May 14
1921	May 16
1922	Apr 26
1923	May 17
1924	May 25
1925	May 25
1926	May 22
1927	Apr 23
1928	May 12
1929	May 19
1930	May 17
1931	May 20
1932	May 1
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 3
1936	May 3
1937	Apr 25
1938	May 7
1939	May 12
1940	May 3
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 3
1943	May 13
1944	May 5
1945	May 11
1946	May 12
1947	May 8
1948	Apr 13
1949	May 24
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 15
1953	May 13
1954	May 8
1955	May 8
1956	May 4
1957	May 4
1958	May 1
1959	May 15
1960	May 3
1961	May 9
1962	Apr 28
1963	May 22
1964	Apr 22
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 11
1967	May 20
1968	May 17
1969	Apr 28
1970	May 2
1971	Apr 14
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 28
1974	May 6
1975	Apr 21
1976	May 7
1977	Apr 8
1978	May 2
1979	May 21
1980	May 15
1981	May 19
1982	May 8
1983	Apr 29
1984	May 8
1985	Apr 10
1986	May 2
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 7
1990	May 2
1991	Apr 24
1992	May 5
1993	Apr 30
1994	Apr 30
1995	Apr 25
1996	May 12
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 18
1999	Apr 19
2000	Apr 21
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 3
2003	Apr 17
2004	May 15
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 21
2010	May 9

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	140
1895	132
1896	150
1897	123
1899	138
1900	145
1901	130
1917	110
1918	126
1919	157
1920	139
1921	140
1922	165
1923	118
1924	126
1925	118
1926	124
1927	149
1928	133
1929	121
1930	133
1931	126
1932	150
1933	167
1934	141
1935	146
1936	150
1937	143
1938	165
1939	135
1940	157
1941	157
1942	143
1943	126
1944	156
1945	140
1946	152
1947	136
1948	179
1949	127
1950	154
1951	153
1952	171
1953	145
1954	136
1955	152
1956	148
1958	152
1959	146
1960	168
1961	138
1962	177
1963	159
1964	165
1965	150
1966	142
1967	130
1968	139
1969	166
1970	159
1971	178
1972	157
1973	147
1974	119
1975	163
1976	136
1977	177
1978	163
1979	137
1980	130
1981	131
1982	160
1983	146
1984	139
1986	159
1987	180
1988	158
1989	138
1990	159
1991	163
1992	145
1993	149
1994	162
1995	149
1996	143
1997	153
1998	184
1999	169
2000	152
2001	163
2002	143
2003	165
2004	139
2005	154
2006	163
2007	152
2008	169
2009	168

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	15.8 °C
1894	17.3 °C
1895	16.4 °C
1896	15.9 °C
1897	16.0 °C
1898	16.5 °C
1899	15.7 °C
1900	17.7 °C
1901	17.0 °C
1916	15.7 °C
1917	14.9 °C
1918	15.8 °C
1919	16.8 °C
1920	14.8 °C
1921	17.0 °C
1922	16.4 °C
1923	15.9 °C
1924	13.0 °C
1925	16.1 °C
1926	15.4 °C
1927	15.2 °C
1928	15.4 °C
1929	15.8 °C
1930	16.9 °C
1931	17.6 °C
1932	17.0 °C
1933	17.8 °C
1934	17.2 °C
1935	15.9 °C
1936	17.7 °C
1937	17.2 °C
1938	17.0 °C
1939	17.4 °C
1940	16.8 °C
1941	17.9 °C
1942	16.0 °C
1943	16.5 °C
1944	16.8 °C
1945	15.1 °C
1946	16.4 °C
1947	16.3 °C
1948	17.8 °C
1949	17.6 °C
1950	15.0 °C
1951	15.5 °C
1952	17.4 °C
1953	16.7 °C
1954	16.4 °C
1955	18.8 °C
1956	16.1 °C
1957	16.6 °C
1958	16.7 °C
1959	17.8 °C
1960	16.7 °C
1961	16.3 °C
1962	16.1 °C
1963	17.5 °C
1964	17.6 °C
1965	15.5 °C
1966	16.2 °C
1967	15.7 °C
1968	16.6 °C
1969	16.9 °C
1970	17.2 °C
1971	16.6 °C
1972	16.4 °C
1973	16.8 °C
1974	16.4 °C
1975	16.4 °C
1976	17.9 °C
1977	18.2 °C
1978	17.4 °C
1979	15.8 °C
1980	17.5 °C
1981	16.6 °C
1982	15.3 °C
1983	16.4 °C
1984	15.9 °C
1985	16.1 °C
1986	16.7 °C
1987	18.3 °C
1988	18.8 °C
1989	16.6 °C
1990	16.4 °C
1991	17.4 °C
1992	14.9 °C
1993	14.9 °C
1994	16.6 °C
1995	16.1 °C
1996	15.3 °C
1997	16.0 °C
1998	17.8 °C
1999	16.8 °C
2000	16.4 °C
2001	17.1 °C
2002	16.6 °C
2003	16.4 °C
2004	15.8 °C
2005	17.2 °C
2006	17.7 °C
2007	17.4 °C
2008	16.1 °C
2009	16.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Willmar's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Willmar Wwtp (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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